304、⑻这是那些对婚姻怀有贞洁想法之人，而非那些对婚姻怀有不贞洁想法之人的情形。对贞洁者，就是那些从宗教的视角看待婚姻的人来说，灵的婚姻在先，身体的婚姻在后。他们就是前面（参看302节）所说其爱情朝着灵魂攀升，并从那高处下降的人。这些人的灵魂弃绝不受限制的两性情爱，只专注于一个人，视与他/她永恒不朽的结合，及其逐渐增长的祝福为手段，以点燃不断重塑他们心智的希望。
但不贞洁者的情形则截然不同。他们就是那些不从宗教的视角看待婚姻、视之为圣洁的人。这些人有身体的婚姻，却没有灵的婚姻。即便订婚期间出现某种灵的婚姻的表象，甚至它通过双方对其思维的提升而有所攀升，但它仍会跌回由肉体产生、存在于意愿中的情欲，因而从那里的不贞洁之物一头扎进肉体，以爱的诱人热情玷污它的最低层。结果，它像刚开始那样燃烧，因而很快燃烧殆尽，继之而来的是仲冬的寒冷；它的消失由此加速。订婚的状态对这些人几乎没有任何帮助，只是以淫荡来填满他们的淫欲，而这是对其婚姻之爱的玷污。
304、（8）这是那些视婚姻为贞洁的人的情况，而不是那些视婚姻为非贞洁的人的情况。贞洁的人会出于宗教而考虑婚姻，他们会是有精神上的结合在先，躯体上的结合在后。这些人的爱上升到灵魂中，在从高处下降，正如302节中所讲。他们的爱没有对异性普遍的爱而只爱其中的一个。目的是与这个人永远相结合达到统一。这一想法会不断的使他们的头脑清新。
不贞洁的人的情况则完全相反。这些人不是出于宗教而考虑婚姻。他们所经历的是躯体的婚姻而非精神的婚姻。在订婚期间，即使他们的思想会有一点提升，它也会跌落到来自于躯体的淫爱中去。因此会使爱被污染，就好象是爱刚刚开始燃烧，就消失在寒冷的冬季。在这些人中，订婚只不过是促动了他们的淫爱而污染了婚姻之爱。
304. (viii) This is what happens to those who have chaste thoughts about marriage, not to those who have unchaste thoughts.
In the case of the chaste, those who take a religious view of marriage, the marriage of the spirit comes first, and that of the body follows. These are the people in whose case love climbs towards the soul, and comes down from that height (302). The souls of these people cut themselves off from unrestricted sexual love, and commit themselves to one person, regarding everlasting and eternal union with him or her, and its ever increasing blessings, as means to kindle the hope which constantly refreshes their minds.
[2] But the case of the unchaste is quite different. These are those whose view of marriage or the sanctity of marriage is not based on religion. They have a marriage of the body, but not of the spirit. If there is any appearance of a marriage of the spirit during the period of an engagement, still even if it climbs up by the lifting of their thoughts about it, it still falls back into longings in the will arising from the flesh; and so from the unchastity there rushes headlong into the body, befouling it at the lowest level with the alluring passion of love. Then just as quickly as it blazed up at first, it burns out and is succeeded by the coldness of midwinter; and so its failure is hastened. The period of engagement hardly does anything to help these people, other than to fill their longings with wantonness, which pollutes their principle of conjugial love.
304. 8. This happens in the case of people who think chastely in regard to marriage, not so in the case of those who think unchastely in regard to it. With chaste people - who are people who think of marriage in accordance with religion - a marriage of the spirit precedes and one of the body follows after. These are also people in whom love ascends toward the soul and thus descends from on high, as described above in no. 302. Their souls turn away from an unrestricted love for the opposite sex and devote themselves to one, looking to an everlasting and eternal union with him or her and the growing blessings of that union, which fuel in them a hope that continually refreshes their minds.
[2] It is entirely different with unchaste people, however, who are people who do not think of marriage and its sanctity in accordance with religion. In their case they experience a marriage of the body and not one of the spirit. If during the state of betrothal some trace of a marriage of the spirit appears, still, even if this ascends through an elevation of their thoughts concerning it, it nevertheless falls back into lusts which arise from the flesh in the will of the flesh, thus casting itself headlong from the unchaste elements there into the body and polluting the outmost expressions of its love with a beguiling ardor. So it is that as suddenly as love blazed in the beginning, just as suddenly it burns out and vanishes into the coldness of winter, thus quickening a waning of its ability. The state of betrothal in their case does little more than to incite them to fulfill their lusts with lascivious gratifications and by these contaminate the conjugial relationship of love.
304. 8. This is how it works for people who think about marriages chastely, but it works differently for those who think about them unchastely. Among the chaste - those who think from religion about marriages - marriage of the spirit comes first, and marriage of the body follows. They are also the ones in whom love rises toward their soul and comes down from that height (concerning this see no. 302, above). These people's souls separate themselves from unrestricted love of the other sex and consign themselves to one with whom they look forward to a perpetual and eternal union and its growing blessings as things that foster the hope that is always restoring their minds.
But it is totally different for the unchaste - the ones who do not think about marriages and their holiness from religion. For them there is marriage of the body and none of the spirit. If anything of spiritual marriage does show up during the engaged state - if it rises due to elevated thought about it - it nevertheless falls back down to the selfish desires that are in the will of the flesh. And so, because of the unchaste things there it dives headfirst into the body and pollutes the foundations of its love with that alluring fire. This makes it go out as quickly as it lit in the beginning, and it disappears into midwinter cold. This hastens its loss.
With these people the engaged state serves for almost nothing except to fill their lusts full of lasciviousness and contaminate married love.
304. VIII. THAT THIS IS THE CASE WITH THOSE WHO THINK OF MARRIAGES CHASTELY; NOT SO WITH THOSE WHO THINK OF THEM UNCHASTELY. With the chaste, being those who think about marriages from religion, the marriage of the spirit precedes, and that of the body follows. These are the ones spoken of above (no. 302), with whom the love ascends towards the soul and then descends from its height. Their souls separate themselves from the unlimited love of the sex and, attaching themselves to one, look to an everlasting and eternal union with that one, and to the increasing blessings thereof as nourishers of the hope which continually recreates their minds.
[2] Wholly different is it with the unchaste, being those who do not think of marriages and the holiness thereof from religion. With them, there is a marriage of the body and none of the spirit. If anything of a marriage of the spirit appears during the state of betrothal, yet, if this ascends by an elevation of the thoughts respecting it, it nevertheless falls back to the concupiscences which are in the will from the flesh; and so, by reason of the unchaste things there, casts itself headlong into the body and pollutes the ultimates of its love with alluring ardor. The result is, that as in the beginning it burned, so, suddenly it burns out and passes off into the cold of winter whereby its disappearance is accelerated. With such men, the state of betrothal does hardly aught else than help to fill their concupiscences with things lascivious, and from these to contaminate the conjugial of love.
304. (viii) This happens with those who think chastely of marriages, but not with those who think unchastely. With the chaste, who are those who think about marriage from religion, the marriage of the spirit precedes and that of the body follows. It is with these that marital love ascends toward the soul, and then descends from a height (of which above,302). Their souls disengage themselves from unlimited love of the sex and devote themselves to one, with whom they look to an enduring and eternal union, the growing blessings of which are spurs to the hope which constantly renews their minds.
But it is quite otherwise with the unchaste, who are those who do not think from religion about marriage and its sanctity; with them there is a marriage of the body, but none of the spirit. If during the state of betrothal something of a marriage of the spirit appears, still, ascend though it may by elevation of the thoughts about marriage, it falls back into the lusts of the flesh in the will, and by unchaste things there drops headlong into the body and defiles the ultimate expression of love with a seductive ardor. It burns out, therefore, as suddenly as at first it flamed up, and goes off into a wintry cold; all this hastens its failure. With such persons the state of betrothal hardly serves to do anything but fill their lusts with things lascivious, thereby sullying what is marital in love.
304. (8) That it is so with those who think chastely concerning marriages, but otherwise with those who think unchastely about them. With the chaste, who are those that think from religion about marriages, the marriage of the spirit precedes and that of the body follows; and these are they with whom the love ascends towards the soul, and descends from its height there, of which see above at n. 302. The souls of these separate themselves from the unlimited love of the sex and devote themselves to the one, with whom they look to an everlasting and eternal union, and its increasing beatitudes as nourishers of the hope that is continually invigorating their minds.
But it is altogether otherwise with the unchaste, who are those that do not think of marriages and of their holiness from religion. With them there is a marriage of the body and none of the spirit. If anything of a marriage of the spirit appears during the state of betrothal, still this, if it ascends by the elevation of the thoughts respecting it, nevertheless falls back to the lusts which are of the flesh in his will, and so, out of the unchaste things there, plunges itself down headlong into the body, and pollutes the ultimates of its love with alluring ardor, with the result that as it burned in the beginning, so, suddenly it goes out and passes away into winter cold, whereby defection is hastened. The state of betrothal with them scarcely does other than help to fill their lusts with things lascivious, and to contaminate the conjugial of love therewith.
304. VIII: Quod ita fiat apud illos, qui de conjugiis cogitant caste, aliter qui de illis incaste. Apud castos, qui sunt, qui ex religione de conjugiis cogitant, praecedit conjugium spiritus, et sequitur corporis; et illi sunt, apud quos amor ascendit versus animam, et ex altitudine inde descendit, de quibus supra 302; horum animae ab amore illimitato sexus se separant, et addicant se 1uni, cum quo seu cum qua sempiternam ac aeternam unionem, et ejus crescentes beatitudines, spectant ut fomenta spei continue recreantis mentis illorum.
[2] Sed aliter prorsus apud incastos, qui sunt qui non ex religione de conjugiis et horum sanctitate, cogitant; apud hos est conjugium corporis, et nullum spiritus; si aliquid conjugii spiritus apparet, durante statu desponsationis, usque hoc, si ascendit per elevationem cogitationum de illo, attamen recidit ad concupiscentias, quae e carne sunt in voluntate ejus, et sic ex incastis ibi praeceps se demittit in corpus, ac inquinat ultima ejus amoris ardore illecebroso; ex quo sicut in principio arsit, ita subito deardet, et abit in frigus brumae; unde acceleratur defectus. Desponsationis status apud hos vix ad aliud juvat, quam ut concupiscentias suas impleant lascivis, et ex illis conjugiale amoris intaminent.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: seu